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Jubilant supporters of Democratic mayoral hopeful Miro Weinberger roared their approval Sunday afternoon at the news: The final caucus tally gave their candidate the victory after a contest prolonged by a tie in caucus voting four weeks earlier.

On Nov. 13, each had garnered 540 votes in the last round of voting on a day that had begun with four candidates. Sunday told a different story as Democrats broke decisively for Weinberger. He received 655 votes, or 115 more than in the tie vote, while Ashe received 533, or seven fewer.

“Today we’re one step closer to being able to turn the page of history of the past six years, and write a new chapter for this city,” Weinberger told the crowd of about 200 residents gathered at Memorial Auditorium to hear the news.

Weinberger’s victory initiates a Democratic race against Republican Ward 4 City Councilor Kurt Wright, the only other declared mayoral candidate. Burlington Democrats will hold a unity news conference at noon today at Contois Auditorium in City Hall.

Sunday represented a political tripleheader for Burlington. In addition to the Democratic caucus conclusion:

• Wright himself also received his party’s nomination Sunday; he plans his formal campaign kickoff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Contois Auditorium.

&bull Sunday night’s Progressive Party caucus yielded no declared candidate, with party members putting off a decision on whether to nominate someone until January. The party is without a standard-bearer because Progressive Mayor Bob Kiss announced last month he would not seek a third term and now because former Progressive city councilor Ashe did not win the Democratic nomination and has left the race.

The election is in March.

The month-long period between Democratic caucus votes granted Weinberger, a newcomer to electoral politics, time to cultivate fence-sitters —and to solidify a loyal-leaning Democratic base that seemed increasingly inclined to endorse him over a rival espousing “fusion” with city Progressives.

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In his acceptance speech, Weinberger thanked his supporters, staff and volunteers, as well as his erstwhile rivals — but made no explicit overture to Ashe supporters.

“We can’t stop now,” Weinberger told the crowd. “I ask you to join me and work with me to help make this possible. With your help, with your voice and your vote, you can make this vision of Burlington at its best a reality.”

At a brief press conference after the conference, Weinberger was more specific: “We certainly need the support of many, many voters who’ve consider themselves Progressive voters for many years, and I’ll work hard to earn that support.”

Ashe met with a small, subdued crowd later in the evening.

“I’m disappointed — but grateful to the people of Burlington for giving me a shot at this job,” he said. “I count myself lucky that, come January, I’ll be in the State House, doing the best job I can for Burlington and Chittenden County.”

Ashe repeated his pledge to support the Democratic effort in what he said would likely be a tough campaign against Wright.

“I wish the best for Miro. He’s going to need help going forward, and I’m ready to step up and help,” Ashe said. He made a point of visiting the Progressive caucus Sunday evening and noting how Weinberger in recent weeks had come to appreciate the importance of courting Progressive voters.

Republican Wright, who has kept a relatively low profile during the protracted Democratic nomination process, offered his congratulations to Weinberger for his victory, and to Ashe for running a strong campaign.

“I’m looking forward to rigorous debate on the issues, and also learning more about who Mr. Weinberger is,” said Wright, who has worked previously with Ashe, as well as the other two Democratic hopefuls, Vermont Rep. Jason Lorber and Deputy State’s Attorney and Ward-2 City Councilor Bram Kranichfeld. Lorber and Kranichfeld were knocked out of the Democratic running in the first two rounds of caucus voting on Nov. 13.

Participation at Sunday’s Democratic “re-caucus” was limited to the approximately 1,300 residents who had registered and voted last month. The final ballot count indicated that slightly more than 100 Nov. 13 caucus-goers missed the finale Sunday.

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City Democratic Party Chairman Steve Howard Party Chairman Steve Howard appeared to be relaxed throughout; Sunday’s single round of votes greatly simplified the gathering’s logistics.

At the 1 p.m. kickoff, Howard directed a line of voters to registration desks marked marked with “A-L” and “M-Z” to indicate last names.

The measured procession contrasted with last month’s caucus, which featured a packed building with precious little seating or even room to walk.

Twenty minutes into Sunday’s voting, the lines remained long; by 1:45 p.m., the crowd had thinned, although the clamor of animated voices held steady.

As the 3:59 p.m. voting deadline approached, the intensity of Weinberger’s volunteer call-squad increased to a frenzy: Who among the “Miro” supporters might still be summoned to cast votes?

Katherine Betzer earned the distinction of being the last voter of the afternoon, rushing in with seconds to spare. Her effort earned a loud applause.

She had been at her home on Colchester Avenue when two successive calls came through from the Weinberger campaign. She said she needed the prodding. “I went through a breakup today,” Betzer said. “I was pretty low. If this sort of thing happened three years ago, I wouldn’t have voted.”

She leapt into her car at 3:52 p.m. and made it to Memorial Auditorium in less than five minutes.

The caucus improved her mood, Betzer added: “There are a lot of good people here. And adrenaline.”